FixMeStick gets a virus-infected PC up and running again

Viruses and spyware can be devastating to a Windows-based PC, sometimes mucking it up so badly that it won’t boot. Advanced PC users know there are ways around this, such as booting from a Linux-based CD or USB flash drive with antivirus software installed.

This technique is effective, but it’s daunting for the less technically inclined. Now, there’s a product that simplifies the Linux-boot strategy and automates the process of getting your PC running again.

FixMeStick is a USB flash drive with a rudimentary version of Linux and a set of malware-removal tools. Insert it into a Windows-based PC infected with viruses or spyware and you’re able to boot from the basic OS on the drive. It will then scan your PC and attempt to remove the malicious code so your PC is functional again.

To test the product, FixMeStick sent me an Acer Aspire One netbook infected with the ZeroAccess malware, a nasty piece of work that redirects Google searches and prevents antivirus programs from running or installing. It also downloads other malware packages. Symantec’s database of known malware rates removal of this Trojan as “difficult”.

When I first started up the test netbook, it wouldn’t complete the boot process. The system got to the point where the Windows startup sound would begin to play, only to be replaced by an angry, buzzing sound, followed by a Blue Screen of Death.

I was eventually able to get it to boot by going into Safe Mode, then restarting the PC from there. Once at the desktop, I found I couldn’t run the installed copy of Norton Security 2012, nor could I install any other kind of antimalware package. ZeroAccess had me dead in the water.

Next, I inserted the FixMeStick and launched the executable on it. The system restarted and booted from the USB drive.

(Note that, if I could not have gotten to the desktop, I could have manually started the PC with the FixMeStick in place and it would boot directly from there. However, not all PCs are configured out of the box to boot from a USB drive. You may have to tweak BIOS settings to have that option.)

The FixeMeStick software’s interface is simple. If you can get to the Internet, it will download new virus definitions and other updates, then begin the process of scanning the infected PC. This can take some time, and there are points early in the process where I wondered if it was doing anything at all. Once scanning actually begins, you’ll get an estimate of how long it will take, which I found was accurate. It took about 30 minutes to scan and detect the malware.

The software flagged ZeroAccess’ files and offered to quarantine them. Note that the FixMeStick can’t repair files, only quarantine them, which means that – under some circumstances – that quarantine process could also render an infected PC unbootable. FixMeStick offers remote access technical support for those instances.

In this case, though, FixMeStick allowed me to boot into the Windows desktop without incident. From here, I was able to install and run MalwareBytes, which removed some of the “leftovers” of ZeroAccess, including Registry entries. I reinstalled Norton Security, which had been damaged by ZeroAccess, and confirmed that all traces of it were now gone.

FixMeStick has some usage limitations. It only works on three PCs in a month, though you can use it as often as you like within that 30-day period on three machines. After the month is up, it can be used on other PCs.

I like the idea behind FixMeStick, and I’d recommend it as a product of last resort for those whose PCs are completely hosed by malware. Its $49.99 price tag is reasonable, particularly since you’d pay at least twice that to have a professional rescue a virus-infected PC.

That said, it’s important to keep in mind that FixMeStick could remove infected system files, leaving your PC still unusable. I didn’t test the company’s tech support, which helps you get through that dilemma, but this review at PC Mag details the process, as well as pointing out limitations. In those tests, it missed other types of malware.

FixMeStick is one tool for getting an infected PC running again, but don’t count it being your only tool. You’ll still have some cleanup to do once this product has gotten you going.

Dwight Silverman | Techblogger, social media manager

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